kad 
SOME UNITED STATES BIRDS, NEW TO SCIENCE. 325 
like an owl’s egg. My correspondent has noted, he says, a curious 
fact : — that several birds lay more eggs toward the close of the 
season than earlier, and he particularly instances the present 
species. He never found more than three eggs in April and May 
clutches ; but four, five or six in J uly and August sets. He thinks 
it may be accounted for by the greater abundance of food after the 
midsummer rains. 
The Painted Flycatcher (Setophaga picta) allied to our com- 
mon redstart, is a beautiful black, white and carmine species 
which Lieut. Bendire has the credit of first finding in the United 
States (Am. Nat. vi, 436 ; Key, 110). Since last spring, when he 
secured and forwarded the first specimen, he has seen two others 
(Sept. 12); they were foraging for insects in a mezquite tree, and 
seemed to be on their way home to Mexico, from the mountainous 
part of Arizona, where, it is presumed, they passed the summer 
breeding. 
The nest and breeding habits of the beautiful little Vermilion 
Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubineus var. Mexicanus) have lately 
been described in this Magazine by Lt. Bendire himself; but here 
I wish to notice another nest, since received from him. It was 
despoiled April 27, 1872. It is a low flat structure, which was 
saddled close down on a large horizontal fork, as I see by the 
impression of the boughs. Outside and underneath there are some 
quite large but light plant stems, two or three inches long ; the 
substance of the nest is an inextricably mixed mass of very slender 
Srass, fluffy inner bark, dried moss, horsehair, and white sewing- 
thread ; the lining is a thick warm bed of large pigeon feathers — 
I think from the breast of a male Carolina dove. The nest is only 
about an inch deep, though it measures outside three inches’ across 
the brim; were it not for the few sticks, and some of the ragged 
strips, it might be called exquisitely light and delicate. 
Nuttall’s Whippoorwill (Antrostomus Nuttailii) is a beautiful 
4nd interesting species, abundant in many parts of the West, from 
the Missouri region into Mexico, replacing the common Eastern 
Species (A. vociferus). It is smaller than the latter, and somewhat 
differently colored, with a nearly square instead of much rounded 
tail. It does not cry ‘“ whip’-poor-will” like our species, but 
drops a syllable, saying “ whip’-poor” or ‘ poor’-will” as the 
fancy of the hearer may interpret. But the most singular cir- 
_ Cumstance is, that it lays white or creamy-white eggs, entirely 
